The U.S. and Iran are exchanging strikes despite ongoing peace talks.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange relatively limited strikes despite the signing of the memorandum and amid the continuation of peace talks, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.
A U.S. official confirmed that U.S. forces are currently conducting airstrikes in Iran.
The official said the airstrikes had been underway for the last couple of hours.
Three Liberia-flagged oil tankers were attacked in separate incidents off Oman’s coast on Tuesday, leaving three crew members missing and six injured, Oman’s Maritime Security Center said.
The tanker AL BAHYAH, owned by UAE-based AL BAHYAH INC, was attacked off Oman’s Musandam governorate. Eighteen crew members were evacuated by nearby vessels, while three remained missing, Oman’s military media authority said in a statement.
In a separate incident, the Liberia-flagged tanker MOMBASA B was attacked off Musandam, causing it to lose propulsion, the center said. All 21 crew members were evacuated by nearby vessels, including six who suffered injuries of varying severity.
A third Liberia-flagged tanker, STOLT MAGNESIUM, was attacked off Oman’s South Al Sharqiyah governorate, outside Omani territorial waters. The attack caused a fire in the vessel’s engine room. All 23 crew members aboard had been evacuated and were in good health, according to Oman.
The statements did not identify the cause of the attacks or attribute responsibility. An Omani navy vessel was monitoring developments in the incidents off Musandam, according to Oman.
Kuwait said its air defenses are currently confronting missile and drone attacks, with explosions being the result of interceptions.
President Donald Trump backed off from his threat to impose a 20% toll on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, claiming it would be replaced by future trade and investment deals with Gulf allies.
The announcement comes just a day after Trump initially announced the 20% fee, throwing more uncertainty into the global oil market. U.S. oil was trading up over 3% Tuesday morning, and global oil up over 4%.
Trump wrote on social media that the decision came after "highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership," and would include “massive” investments into the U.S., though he did not offer any specifics on the deals.
“As everyone is aware, we have the largest Dollar Investment into the United States, of any Country in History, but these new Investments will make that Number even larger,” Trump said.
The president also again asserted that the Strait of Hormuz was open to “ALL Ship traffic except for Iran” as the U.S. reimplements the naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports, as the country has continued to strike commercial vessels moving through the strait, claiming it is closed to traffic.
“That is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION,” Trump said of the renewed blockade. “We will therefore have a FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo.”
-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
